Lesson 6: Romans 2:1 – 11

  2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things. ³ Do you suppose, O man-you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself-that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁶ He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For God shows no partiality.  

We have seen in the previous chapter that God has given all men a revelation of Himself and some of His attributes through the creation of nature.  We have also seen what men do with this knowledge of God.  They suppress it and substitute the worship and honoring of God with the worship and honoring of idols, which dishonors God.  God is pouring out His wrath, his righteous anger and punishment, on mankind who suppress the truth.  Man would rather not be subject and held accountable to a God that will actually demand righteousness from His subjects.  Man sees the righteous and holy God and prefers to have gods that are less intrusive, less demanding, and quite frankly, easier to control than the Almighty God.  Because of man’s dishonoring of God, God gives them over to their own desires, and man spirals downward into dishonorable, unnatural, and depraved actions and thinking. 

Pastor Donald Barnhouse states in his commentary on Romans that we need to go from the fact “that all men are sinners to the terrible consequences of that fact.  We must see that the inevitable result of our sinfulness is the certainty of God’s judgment upon all unrighteousness.”[1] When we know that judgment and condemnation follow from sin, then and only then will we as human beings be brought to the tremendous realization that we need a Savior, and must run to him if we are to avoid God’s coming wrath. 

However, there are some people who undoubtedly will say that, “I am not like that!  I am a good person.  I do what is right, and I live a good life.”  In fact, these people probably criticize and correct others based on their own sense of morality.  They may or may not know God, but nonetheless see themselves as obeying the law of their conscience and expecting everyone else to do the same.  These next two lessons in chapter 2 of Romans address these particular righteous moralists.  These people include both Jews and Gentiles who see themselves as superior to other people.  Paul understands that some people will look at those in chapter 1 and know that they are better than that.  The first chapter of Romans was the definite statement that all men were without excuse because God had written His truth and knowledge throughout the splendor of His creation.  In the first half of the second chapter Paul will show us that we are also without excuse because God has written His truth and knowledge on the conscience of all mankind. 

Scholars debate whether this section was written specifically to the Jews, or to the Gentiles, or to everyone, both Jews and Gentiles.  Later on in chapter two, Paul is clearly speaking to Jews, but in this section at the beginning of chapter 2, I think Paul is speaking to both Jews and Gentiles.  Paul uses the word, “O’ man,” in verses 1 and 3 to address his audience.  This is a general enough term.  In addition, the subject matter of those who criticize others yet refuse to examine themselves is common with the Jews and with the Gentiles.  Greek philosophers as well as Jewish Pharisees both had the tendency to be very critical and condemning of others, while at the same time refusing to look in the mirror at their own life and beliefs.  Therefore, I would argue that Paul is writing this section in Romans to those that are both Jewish and Gentile.  It certainly applies to us today! 

Mankind is without excuse, again mentioned here at the beginning of chapter 2.  Why?  Because as Paul states, everyone of us that criticizes or condemns a person for doing one thing, we do the same things ourselves.  When the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery, they accused her and condemned her, doing exactly what Paul was describing in Romans 2.  John writes in chapter 8 of his gospel, ⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. We are all in sin, and have no right to condemn based on our own merit.  This does not teach that we should never judge or condemn, because we are called to discern truth from lies, the true gospel from a false gospel, and good from evil.  However, we cannot condemn others for their actions when we ourselves often do the same thing or something similar. 

The problem is that we as human beings tend to judge others in comparison with ourselves, or other people.  Our favorite line is, “Look at what that person is doing.  I would never do that.”  Yet Paul is saying that we in fact do that very thing.  We tend to hold up ourselves as the model of behavior, but if we looked in the mirror, we would see something different.  Yet God judges all of us not by comparing us to others, but to Himself, and he is the ultimate source of righteousness and truth.  In fact, God is perfect righteousness and truth.  In verse 2, Paul writes, ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things.  Literally, this statement is “We have known that the judgment of God, which is according to truth, is upon those who practice them.”  One of the keys here is the phrase “according to truth.”[2]  God judges according to truth, not based on preferences, or opinions, or human fallible witnesses.  God judges based on truth through His omnipotence, omniscience, and His other perfect attributes.  God’s standard is truth, not human laws that are subject to misinterpretation, or human evidence that is subject to falsification and distortion.  When God judges anyone and everyone, we can rest assured that He judges righteously and rightly, according to truth. 

Yes, there is such a thing as truth.  Today, many people, even Christians, have a mindset that “what is good for you may not be good for me.”  That is called relativism.  Many people will say with the best of intentions that a particular section of Scripture “means one thing to me and may mean another thing to you.”  Again, we have been infected by the god of this age and believe that Scripture has any number of meanings depending on who reads it.  Scripture has one meaning, what the author intended it to mean, but we may be able to apply it differently.  However, the meaning is the same.  Some people say that “Christianity may work for you, but something else works for me, and who are you to judge.”  Again, this is a distortion of “truth” into relativism, where no one religion, meaning, rule, or god is absolute.  Tolerance has changed its meaning from the classical definition of “putting up with something that is not right or bad, even though you know otherwise” to “acceptance of the bad or alternative as right.”  However, God and the Bible clearly proclaim an intolerant view of truth.  There is truth, and there are lies.  God is the definition and ultimate standard of truth.  The Bible is the revelation and documentation of this perfect truth.   

Paul makes it clear in verse 3 that there is no escape from God’s judgment for those who think they might be good, yet aren’t.  The one who thinks he is a moral and ethical person will fall under the same judgment as the vile sinner in Romans 1, because the moral critic at the beginning of chapter 2 is in the same boat.  Paul uses strong language; there is no escape!  Everyone on trial tries to escape judgment.  The whole point of having a lawyer is to escape what may or may not be coming to you.  Even when the verdict is handed down, if it is a guilty verdict, appeals are made simply because one tries as hard as they can to escape judgment.  However, because God’s judgment is fair and true, based on truth, there is no appeals process or mistrial.  There is no escape. 

According to R.C. Sproul, Paul is taking aim at the Pharisees, and at the Jews in particular.  He states:

…it was commonplace in the first century, among the Pharisees particularly, to assume that God would excuse certain behavioral patterns in Jewish people that he would condemn among the pagans. Why did they think that God would excuse in them, what he would condemn in others? Because of their conviction that there existed a privileged relationship between God and the children of Abraham. God had made a covenant promise to Abraham and to his seed: a promise of blessing, and a promise of incorporation into the kingdom of God. So there were many who came to the conclusion that redemption on the last day would not come on the basis of individual performance, so much as on the basis of membership within a privileged group, or within a privileged class. Those who were part of the covenant community of Israel had nothing to fear for they were children of Abraham automatically.[3] 

The Pharisees, and many other Israelites as well, imagined that since they were the chosen race of God, they were guaranteed their place in heaven.  This may seem silly to us today, but how many people do you know expect to escape God’s judgment and secure their place in heaven simply through their membership in a church?  Or perhaps you know someone who believes, as many Americans do today, because they live in America that they are automatically Christians?  Some people believe that since my parents were believers, then I as their child will also be guaranteed a spot in heaven.  Paul is making it clear in this verse and section that a membership in a group will not enable a person to escape God’s judgment.  When we all stand before God on the last day, awaiting God’s judgment, we will all stand alone. 

Now, let me be clear, though.  In a sense, we as believers all get to heaven on the coattails of someone else, and that someone is Jesus Christ.  But Paul is not expounding the gospel here in this section.  He is exploding the myth that man can think he is morally good, criticize others, and expect God to look upon him with favor.  Remember, in the first three chapters of Romans Paul is laying the groundwork that proves all mankind are sinners, separated from God, and are all due to be the recipients of His wrath.  We all have no excuse, regardless of who we are, what group we belong to, what we think about ourselves, or as we will see later in chapters 2 and 3, how religious we are.  We are all under the righteous judgment of God, and we should all expect to receive the full force of His divine wrath.  What a frightful thought!

Verse 4 addresses another issue that the Jews, and many people today, use as an excuse to escape the wrath of God.  ⁴ Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?  Many people have bet on God’s kindness and mercy as a means of escaping the wrath of God.  They may say, “But God is love and wrath from God is not in His character.” Or “A loving God would never send anyone to Hell.”  However, these people miss the point of the matter.  God is also just and righteous, and He must punish rebellion against Him.  God is kind and patient with all of us, not wanting anyone to perish, but we cannot use that as an escape clause to miss the righteous judgment of God upon our rebellious selves.  The point of God’s kindness and patience is not to give us an escape clause, but to leads us to repent of our sins before God. 

In fact, how much time have we all given to the patience and mercy of God in our everyday lives?  Have we ever stopped to consider just how much kindness God shows us every day?  In Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, he reminded his people of this when he said, “O sinner, can you give any reason why since you have risen from your bed this morning God has not stricken you dead?”  Think about it.  Since you have gotten out of bed, how have you rebelled against God?  Have you been cross with your kids?  Did you speed on the way to work, like I did?  Have you lied to anyone?  Think about it.  Why in the world should God not strike you down now because of your rebelliousness and wickedness?  The answer is the kindness and patience and mercy of God. 

Does God owe us anything?  Really?  I have heard some people claim that God owes them a happy and easy life, a good job, healthy kids, and a stress-free, worry-free life.  Does God owe us those things?  Certainly not!  God does not owe us anything, except perhaps judgment for our rebellion.  Instead, God lavishes on us mercy, patience, and kindness.  When we think that God owes us something, we consider too lightly God’s mercy.  The ESV states that we presume on the riches of God’s kindness.  Other translations state that we despise the riches of God’s kindness (KJV); we show contempt for the riches (NIV); or think lightly of the riches (NASB).  How much do we really think about how much God provides for us on a daily basis?  When we think lightly of God’s goodness, kindness, and patience, we take these things for granted.  We may believe that God owes us these things, or we may even believe that we deserve them.  However, when we think deeply and thankfully on these gifts of God, then we are able to thank Him daily for them.  They cause conviction and repentance in our hearts, and we worship God because of them. 

Verse 5 is one of those frightful verses that we may gloss over.  ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.   When we think too lightly of God’s mercy, and it does not lead us to repentance, our hearts become hardened.  God points the way towards repentance, but we do not go.  Instead, we continue to sin and build up a bank account of sin.  We have all seen trials where serial killers have been convicted of multiple counts of murder, and, for instance, are sentenced to 8 consecutive life sentences.  Well, a person cannot serve 8 life sentences in this world, but in eternity that is a different story.  When we continue to sin and refuse to repent, we grow our treasure of wrath.  Robert Haldane states, “This is a strong expression, and a beautiful figure. It proves that sins will be punished according to their accumulation. A man is rich according to his treasures. The wicked will be punished according to the number and aggravation of their sins.”[4] At the same time, we are encouraged by Jesus to store up treasures in heaven (c.f. Matthew 19:21 and Luke 12:33-34, 18:22).  God’s patience will come to an end on the last day of judgment, and we will all be able to see how our investment did, whether it was an investment in sin or an investment in heaven. 

The next paragraph is one unit and we will look at it that way.  ⁶ He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For God shows no partiality.

But doesn’t this paragraph say that we will all be judged by our works?  Verse 6 seems pretty clear.  How can we be saved by our works?  Remember there are really two ways to get to heaven: one is by faith through the work of Jesus Christ, and the other is through leading a perfect sinless and righteous life here on earth.  Paul in Romans 1 – 3 is laying the foundation for why we all need the gospel by expounding on the sinfulness of all human beings, no matter what category we may fall into.  Paul is expounding on the law, and hasn’t gotten to the gospel yet.  Therefore, Paul is explaining to everyone, both Jew and Gentile, that God will render (judge, or reward) to us based on what we have done.  For any human being that has any sense of integrity and honesty, this should strike fear into their heart.  Everyone knows that no matter how good we try to be, we are always selfish, self-seeking, and rebellious.  We think we are better than everyone else. Perhaps we really are like those that God has given up in Romans 1, in some form or fashion.  Our thoughts and actions are the basis for judgment from a completely righteous and holy God. 

Note there are two paths, one positive, and one negative, and the two are mutually exclusive.  The situation will not be such that everything you have done in the good column is added up, and everything you have done in the bad column is added up, and the path you take is determined by the overall winner.  Unfortunately, it is all or nothing.  Note in verses 7 and 10 that the path is characterized by doing good (verse 10), and patience (or perseverance, persistence) in doing good (verse 7).  Do any one of us persist in doing good all the time?  At some point do we seek for our own pleasure and self-interests?  We must be careful not to fall into the trap of boasting about what we clearly cannot or do not do. 

Paul smashes the myth of the Pharisees that the Jews will make it to heaven with God automatically, while the Gentiles will be judged according to a different standard.  However, Paul makes it clear in this last section that God is no respecter of persons.  He will judge everyone on their own merit, regardless of whether they are Jews or Gentiles.  Paul will revisit this issue throughout Romans, and continuously show that God favors no man or race in particular, but freely gives the Spirit to all mankind, and makes salvation available to all mankind through the gospel preaching.  R.C. Sproul states, “All will stand or fall on the basis of their goodness or the absence of goodness. Pedigree, social status, ecclesiastical affiliation and ethnic background will count for nothing at the judgment seat of God.”[5]

There are three things we need to remember from this section of text.  The first one is: Moral critics are just as likely to face God’s wrath as those they criticize because they sin and rebel against God like everyone else.  People judge and criticize others because they ultimately feel they can; critical people see themselves as superior and have the moral and ethical status from which they can judge and condemn others.  However, Paul shows this is just not the case.  Those that judge and criticize are just as guilty of some sin as those that they are judging.  Remember Jesus’ words in John 8:7, ⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”  He didn’t specify the sin of adultery, but sin in general.  Many of those people probably had not committed the sin of adultery, but they certainly had committed various and vile sins that were not adultery.  Jesus proved the point clearly here, as everyone walked away.  They all knew they were sinners, and could just as easily have been the one who was about to be stoned.  Paul’s point is not that we should not be discerning, clearly learning and distinguishing right from wrong.  We are commanded in the Bible to do so, as well as admonish and correct our brothers and sisters in Christ with truth in love.  However, we do this from a sense of humility and gentleness, rather than from a sense of superiority and arrogance.  Ultimately we are all guilty of sin and rebellion, and it is by God’s grace that we have been forgiven and that our sin was paid for through the work of Jesus Christ. 

The second point is: The fact that God is kind and patient is no excuse for continuing to sin; in fact, this demonstrates contempt for God’s kindness. As Christians, we ought to strive daily to maintain a thankfulness for all that God has done in our lives and in the world in general.  As Spirit-filled believers, we should never think lightly of God and His kindness, goodness, and provision in the world.  Regardless of what circumstances come our way, despite the consequences in life of a fallen world, we should always look to God as our great provider and sustainer.  When we see God through this lens, we are repentant, thankful, and worshipful.  The more we dive into God’s word, the more we will think deeply about God and His love and patience for us.

The third point is: Without the gospel, God judges all mankind by what they think and do in life, not on a curve, but against the standards of the truth and righteousness of God.  Yes, there are two ways to get to heaven, but both are through holiness and righteousness, because without righteousness, no one can see God.  One is through the righteousness of yourself, and the other is through the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Many people believe that they can obtain heaven through their own actions, but Paul specifically challenges that notion in this section.  If we even half-heartedly look in the mirror at our own actions on a daily basis, we will see that we do not meet the standard, no matter what that is.  If we say we will live by the Ten Commandments, we are in for a rude awakening because we cannot meet that standard.  How many of us have ever lied?  Ever stolen money, time, etc.  If you have accepted more change than you should have gotten back, you have stolen.  How many of us have ever even thought about cheating on our spouses, or looked at another person with lust?  How many of us have put something before God, such as a job, a person, a desire?  Our entire marketing and advertising business in the 21^st century is based on tapping into the covetousness of the human heart.  Even if we decide to live by the golden rule, we still cannot live up to that standard.  Have we ever done someone wrong and would not have wanted ourselves to be treated that way?  The golden rule has no “Well they deserved it!” clause, either.  Whether a person deserves to be treated a certain way is irrelevant, based on the golden rule.  So Paul’s challenge is clear enough.  God judges by His standard of truth, and we will never be able to meet it.  The consequence for our failure to meet God’s standards of righteousness is God’s wrath.  In this light, the need for the gospel becomes amazingly clear.

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[1] Barnhouse, Donald. The Exposition of Bible Doctrines taking the Epistle to the Romans as a Point of Departure. Vol. 2: God’s Wrath.  Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953.  p. 1. 

[2] Hodge, Romans, verse 2:2. 

[3] Sproul, Gospel of God, p. 48. 

[4] Haldane, p XX.

[5] Sproul, Romans, p. 53.